# PhishDestroy threat dossier — cointelegraph.live
================================================================

Fetched:   2026-04-26 11:56:26 UTC
Canonical: https://phishdestroy.io/domain/cointelegraph.live/

## VERDICT
----------------------------------------------------------------
TAKEN DOWN (neutralised)
Composite threat score: 78/100 (PhishDestroy scoring — see methodology below)

## DETECTION EVIDENCE
----------------------------------------------------------------
VirusTotal:      2/93 security vendors flagged this domain
  Flagging vendors: alphaMountain.ai, Fortinet
Public blocklists: listed on 2 independent blocklists

## INFRASTRUCTURE
----------------------------------------------------------------
IP address:      66.29.141.141 (US, Phoenix)
ASN:             ASAS22612 NAMECHEAP-NET, US
Hosting org:     AS22612 Namecheap, Inc.
Registrar:       NameCheap, Inc.
Nameservers:     ["dns2.namecheaphosting.com", "dns1.namecheaphosting.com"]
Registered:      2026-02-21
Page title:      Privacy error

## TLS CERTIFICATE
----------------------------------------------------------------
Issuer:     Sectigo Limited / Sectigo RSA Domain Validation Secure Server CA
Expires:    2026-04-05
Status:     INVALID chain
Fingerprint: b2e87d90d3962b349e4806f599ff81b072f3e0141603ae866b417d347363b58f
Subject Alternative Names (related infrastructure — often same operator):
  - web-hosting.com

## ABUSE-REPORT HISTORY (evidence of registrar non-response)
----------------------------------------------------------------
Status: CLOSED — no report required.
This domain was neutralised before the abuse-report cycle could be dispatched — either
the hosting provider / registrar suspended it on their own, the DNS went dead, or the
operator abandoned the infrastructure. PhishDestroy keeps the evidence bundle on file
for audit but no formal notice was sent.

## TIMELINE
----------------------------------------------------------------
Domain registered: 2026-02-21 (per WHOIS / CT — may reflect a renewal or transfer date, not first-ever registration)
First detected:    2026-02-26 23:21:13 UTC (by PhishDestroy tracker)
Last verified:     2026-04-18 13:17:17 UTC
Current status:    taken down (registrar suspended or DNS dead)

## EXTERNAL CORROBORATION (third-party evidence)
----------------------------------------------------------------
URLScan.io:       https://urlscan.io/result/0197f670-6b5b-763b-b136-e64e95eebcf5/
Wayback Machine:  https://web.archive.org/web/*/cointelegraph.live
crt.sh CT logs:   https://crt.sh/?q=%25.cointelegraph.live
Google transparency: https://transparencyreport.google.com/safe-browsing/search?url=cointelegraph.live
AlienVault OTX:   https://otx.alienvault.com/indicator/domain/cointelegraph.live
URLhaus:          https://urlhaus.abuse.ch/host/cointelegraph.live/

## ANALYST NARRATIVE
----------------------------------------------------------------
[Generated: 2026-03-19 05:56:47 UTC — narrative may predate facts above. Treat fields in TIMELINE / DETECTION EVIDENCE / INFRASTRUCTURE as authoritative if they differ from the prose below.]

PhishDestroy identifies cointelegraph.live as a low-risk generic phishing domain. Although it shows minimal detection with only two security vendors flagging it, and appears on two blocklists, users should remain cautious. The domain was registered recently on February 21, 2026, and is currently taken offline, which suggests it was likely used or intended for phishing activity that targets unsuspecting visitors.

This phishing site likely aimed to deceive users by mimicking a legitimate service or platform to steal sensitive information such as login credentials or financial data. Despite currently displaying a privacy error page, the domain's association with phishing tactics means it could have been used to trick users into entering personal details or downloading malicious content. The site resolves to an IP address associated with NameCheap, Inc., a common registrar for such fraudulent domains.

If someone has visited cointelegraph.live, it is advisable not to enter any personal or financial information there. Users should verify their accounts, change passwords if credentials were submitted, and monitor financial statements for unusual activity. Running a full antivirus scan and enabling multi-factor authentication on important accounts can further mitigate potential risks. Staying informed and cautious about new or suspicious domains helps protect against phishing threats like cointelegraph.live.

## EVIDENCE HASHES
----------------------------------------------------------------
TLS cert SHA-256:      b2e87d90d3962b349e4806f599ff81b072f3e0141603ae866b417d347363b58f

## SCORING METHODOLOGY
----------------------------------------------------------------
Composite score is NOT derived from VirusTotal alone. PhishDestroy aggregates:
  - VirusTotal positive ratio
  - Public blocklist consensus (MetaMask, ScamSniffer, OpenPhish, PhishTank, URLhaus,
    CryptoFirewall, SEAL, Polkadot, Enkrypt, Phishunt, DiscordPhishing, PhishingDB)
  - Cloaking detection (HTTP 666 or rendering delta between bot and real visitor)
  - DNS-filter consensus (Quad9, CleanBrowsing, NextDNS, AdGuard, Cloudflare, etc.)
  - AlienVault OTX pulses + Cloudflare Radar + Google Safe Browsing
  - URLScan / URLQuery verdicts
  - Brand-impersonation heuristics (DOM analysis of forms, logos, wording)
  - Known phishing-kit fingerprinting (favicon hash, JS obfuscation signatures)
  - Wallet-drainer family classification (Angel, MS, Rainbow, Pink, Inferno, ...)
  - Free-TLS vs paid-cert ratio (throwaway infrastructure signal)
  - Registrar/hosting abuse history (this registrar's track record)
  - Human researcher sign-off (volunteer takedown team)

A domain present in our database is ALREADY flagged. A low VT count by itself does
NOT mean the domain is safe — new scam domains routinely show 0/95 VT for their
first 7–30 days while actively draining wallets. Always cross-reference the composite
score and the individual indicators above, not just VT.

## CORRECTIONS / APPEALS
----------------------------------------------------------------
Full HTML report:  https://phishdestroy.io/domain/cointelegraph.live/
JSON API:          https://api.destroy.tools/v1/check?domain=cointelegraph.live
Appeal a flag:     https://phishdestroy.io/appeals/  (responded to within 48 hours, FP rate <0.01%)
Submit a report:   https://t.me/PhishDestroy_bot

About PhishDestroy: volunteer-driven open-source threat-intelligence platform.
Tracked: 131,000+ phishing domains. Confirmed takedowns: 91,000+. Site: https://phishdestroy.io